Faith
by jespah
Summary: Declan Reed's spiritual journey. Malcolm Reed's only child changes his life when he falls in love with a woman of a different faith than his.
1. Chapter 1 - In the Beginning

Faith

1 – In The Beginning

"In the beginning, there was null and void," the Rabbi intoned.

Declan Reed sat in the back and stared out at the altar, and at the backs of the heads of much of the congregation of Temple Beth Shalom, the first synagogue on Lafa II. All he could think of was: _what am I doing here?_

Much of the congregation intoned, in Hebrew, " _B'rehshiht." In the beginning_. Same thing. Declan didn't know Hebrew, but he did understand that much. There was an awful lot of repetition, it seemed.

He pulled out a _Siddur_ – a prayer book – from the back of the pew in front of him. It took him a moment to realize that it was written from right to left. Even the English and Calafan portions; at least the verbiage was correctly going left to right, but the pages were numbered from right to left. He thumbed through it, looking at the Hebrew, and the English and Calafan transliterations.

He knew no one in the congregation. There were still not a lot of humans on Lafa II, but he'd gone away for Oxford, and then he'd been busy caring for his elderly, well, there was no good English word for Melissa Madden and Leonora Digiorno. After his own biological parents had died, he had been entrusted with caring for those two elderly women. But they had passed, too.

Some of his half- and step-siblings, like Joss Beckett and Neil Digiorno-Madden, still lived on Lafa II. Half-sister Marie Patrice Beckett was on Andoria, which wasn't too far away. Tommy Digiorno-Madden was serving in Starfleet, under a new captain, some fellow named Robau. But none of them were with him. For this particular act, he was on his own.

A Calafan sitting nearby, wearing a yarmulke and a tallis, elbowed him, and he realized he needed to rise with everyone else. He looked over the Calafan's shoulder, but the guy wasn't using a paper _Siddur_. Instead, the reading was on his PADD. And it was in Calafan script, which Declan had trouble reading even at the best of times. But at least he could catch the page number. The backwards prayer book tripped him up again, but he got to the right page in time for the English repetition of the prayer, the _Shema_. "Hear, oh Israel," he said out loud, with the rest of the congregation, in the posh English accent he'd picked up during his years at Oxford as an artist in residence, "the lord, our God; the lord is one."

Maybe a half an hour later, the service was over. People hugged and kissed and shook hands. The Calafan turned to him and stuck out his right hand. " _Shabbat Shalom_ ," he said to Declan.

"Uh, I'm terribly sorry," Declan replied, "but I don't know what that means."

"It means, have a peaceful Sabbath," said the Calafan.

"Oh, well then I wish that to you as well."

"You're new," commented the Calafan.

"Yes, I, uh," Declan hesitated, but only for a split second, "I, I've met a wonderful woman. And whilst she does not require it, I, I still wish to convert to her faith, prior to marrying her."

"Let me introduce you to our rabbi."


	2. Chapter 2 - Red

2 – Red

"Do you recall," Declan asked, standing in the back yard of his brother, Joss's home, "when we in the younger generation were small?" There was no response, so he clarified, "You were reading to me, as I remember. You mentioned Noah's Ark, and I asked you what that was, and you were surprised that no one had ever said anything."

He paused, and traced a small line of dirt with his shoe. "You had paper books, and you brought them out – the _Old_ and _New Testaments_ , and the _Koran_. You gave them to Joss eventually. He keeps them in his office room, which was Marie Patrice's room, and then it was Shaoqing's, and now he's just got a desk and a chair and those paper books. You gave him Dante's _Inferno, Purgatorio_ , and _Paradisio_ , too, as I recall. But you would know that. I need not remind you."

There was still no response. "And you showed us films, too, on the viewer. I recall rather vividly one which showed the Pope and the Cardinals. I don't recall anything else about that film, not even its name. As you know, I have been an artist nearly since I was able to actually hold a stylus, or a brush. And I took my paints and I mixed up that red. Even then, I knew it was a rather particular color. It wasn't red like your hair, or like blood, or one of Marie Patrice's outfits. It wasn't the red of the raw tuna my mother got on very rare occasions that Doug would put on the grill with some sea salt, fresh lime juice, and a touch of ginger. I mixed and mixed – I ended up with a ton of that red. And I slopped it onto my heavy paper that you used to get me. Do you recall that, as well? They didn't have it at the Calafan market. You used to order it, special, from Andoria."

There was still quiet. He continued, "It was the first time that anyone had ever spoken with me about faith and, and spirituality. We celebrated Christmas, but no one really knew why – except for you, it seemed. And so I tried to paint the Cardinals, that day, and you told me, you said that they were a part of Catholicism. And that you had been brought up as a mix of both Catholic and Muslim, and that a lot of the details differed, but their essence was the same, that there was some sort of higher power and that it was, simply, out there. Neither you nor anyone else truly knew what that higher power did. Had it created us? Kicked off the Big Bang? Smote our enemies? Or perhaps it simply waited, passively, observing us and our petty problems and small actions. Or maybe its sole purpose was for after our deaths, or even before our births. As I got older, I asked you these questions. To your credit, you sometimes tried to answer them, and sometimes directed me to readings, and you sometimes told me to ask others. So I spoke to Calafans. I spoke to Melissa, and to the Starfleet Imam, too. I simply wanted to know. It was not until later – much, much later – that I learned that no one truly knows. It's rather like the Uncertainty Principle. No one can nail it down."

He coughed briefly. "I am here to tell you that, whilst I do not have the answers, I at least have a focus for my questions. And I have a purpose, and a goal. You met Rebecca; you always had a feeling about her, I think. I am here to tell you that I am embracing her faith now, too. But that image I painted of the Cardinals – we'll keep that. I shall insist. Because I need to remember my questions, and your attempts at guidance."

There was a sound behind him, and he turned. "Joss," Declan said, "I do hope you don't mind."

"Not at all," said the older man. "I talk to Norri sometimes, too. C'mon in and have dinner with Jia and me, Dec."

They turned and went into Joss's house, leaving six stone markers, one of which was engraved with _Leonora Digiorno, 2136 – 2212 – True companion. Adored mother and grandmother._


	3. Chapter 3 - Cold

3 – Cold

"You're really sure, Dec?" It was his half-sister, Marie Patrice Beckett, on a video call. She was in the middle of preparing for a trunk show. There were human, Calafan, and Andorian models all running around. Through it all, she was an oasis of calm, handing over a shoe or a sash or an unopened bottle of mascara to someone or other through the semi-organized chaos.

"Yes, I am certain," he replied. "You're rather busy. I should not have contacted you."

"Oh, that's all right. Here, take this one," she was about to hand over a tube of lipstick to a human model when she checked the label at the bottom. "No, wait, get number forty-one." She turned back to the viewer. "So, Rebecca Shapiro, eh? And you're going to become Jewish, and everything?"

"I am indeed."

"Is it very difficult?"

"I'm not sure," he admitted. "I've only just met the rabbi. We mainly discussed whether I was sincere. We didn't get into the particulars."

"What does Rebecca think of all this?" She turned, "Wait, put on the cover-up. It's way too cold to go outside in just a swimsuit, even if it is straight to the limo. I swear, Dec, I'm everybody's mother sometimes."

"There's a place for your maternal instincts, after all."

"You didn't answer me; what does Rebecca think, of you converting?"

"She doesn't know."

"Dec!" There was a tap on Marie Patrice's shoulder by a blue hand. "Yes, yes, the ice yellow. Cool colors for everybody but copper Calafans." She turned back to face the viewer. "You proposed marriage but you didn't tell her you were _converting_?"

"No, I, I wanted it to be a surprise. And I didn't want her to think she could ever talk me out of it."

"That's a helluva commitment. You never made that kind of a commitment to Louise, and you were married to her for, what, three years?"

"Not quite three. It's just, Empy, I, I never felt like this about Louise. Louise was always so, so cold."

"And Rebecca is hot, eh?"

"Empy! C'mon, really!" He peered at her closely. "You ask me too much 'bout Rebecca, and I'm bound to begin inquiring about Ken Masterson and you."

"All right," Marie Patrice threw her hands up in the air, and a silver Calafan unexpectedly handed her a green hair ribbon that had gotten knotted. That made her laugh a little, and she sent about undoing the knot. "Look, all I'm saying is – and I'm not trying to pry – I just want you to, you know. Declan," she said, stopping what she was doing, and looking at him seriously, "if there's one thing I learned from all five of our parents, it's that the bedroom time is really, really important. I don't necessarily mean the rousing sex, although that's all to the good. What I mean is the intimacy. The talking. The lying next to someone and hearing them breathe. The stealing of covers and the snoring. All of that togetherness, and all of that vulnerability. Everybody says – I know you do – _Selfish Empy, Immature Empy_. I know that, I get it."

"Now, now, we don't."

"Oh yes, you do. And I don't exactly disabuse you of such notions. Hell, I know how self-centered I am. No one can accuse me of not being self-aware. But I will, I mean, I'll probably never marry Ken. I love him but I just don't want to do all that pomp and circumstance. I get plenty of it here." She gestured and that same Calafan took back the now-untangled hair ribbon. "But I will and do give all of that to him. I do that because that's the most important thing."

A bit nonplussed, Declan replied, "I'm unused to such, such declarations from you. The, the intimacy. You're absolutely right. With Louise, she was so distant, so removed, so, so detached. I used to think I hadn't much of a skill level, you see. Even in our most intimate moments, she was, let's just say; I think the correct term is _bored_."

"Oh, Dec."

"Yes, she was that cold. And it's not that way with Rebecca. I shan't provide you with the sordid details, or anything like that, but the gist of it is, she approaches our intimacy, whether it's physical or just to sleep or share a coffee or the like, she, she approaches it with, well, with _enthusiasm_."

"And you just want to be even closer by doing this, and becoming Jewish, just like her?"

"Yes," Declan affirmed, "I wish to approach it with the same enthusiasm as she approaches being with, with me."

"Then do it," Marie Patrice declared. "But there is just one thing."

"Oh?"

"Allow me to design you a yarmulke and a tallis. I think they're okay if they're blessed by a rabbi – otherwise, I'm not so sure that the fabric matters, but I'll do some research. I still have some of the cloth from when my father came over from the other side of the pond, that shirt he was wearing when our mother saw him for the first time, in person. And I have some shirts of your Dad's, too. It won't be a patchwork. I'll make it nice. But let me do this for you."

A little overcome, Declan just said, "Our home will always be open to you. Come in from the cold at any time."


	4. Chapter 4 - Bittersweet

4 – Bittersweet

 _Chocolate_. While Declan did not have the kind of weakness for it that Rebecca and Marie Patrice did, he was still fond of it. But his quiet moment of Zen, looking at a bar of chocolate on Neil Digiorno-Madden's kitchen counter, was over in an instant.

"Kids! Wash up!" bellowed Ines Ramirez. She turned to look at Declan. "Neil will be so glad you're here. Can you help me get the leaf in the table?"

"Yes, yes, of course," he murmured as he helped her.

"Did you do your homework?" Ines asked her and Neil's children, Jenny Lee and Marty.

"Quit asking, and, yes," Marty complained, "hiya, Uncle Dec."

Jenny Lee just came over and kissed him on the cheek. She was the elder of the two teenagers. Declan smiled at her. "You're looking chipper."

"Oh, you know," Jenny Lee replied. "Ups and downs, it's the story of my life. What brings you here?"

"I was hoping to speak with your father. Actually, with all of you." Declan and Jenny Lee set out plates and silverware as Ines and Marty put together the last of that evening's meal.

Neil Digiorno-Madden came home from managing the restaurant, _Reversal_. "You lost, Bro?" he joked, and then he saw how serious Declan looked. "What's up?"

"I have a major life change that I'm, well, I'm a bit in the midst of it, and I wanted to speak to all of you about it."

The five of them sat down, passed around elekai stew and then, once the food passing had more or less ended, Neil asked, "Well?"

"See, it's like this. Do you recall Rebecca Shapiro?"

"Nice girl," Ines stated unequivocally. "You met her when you went to Europe after Ma Norri died, right?"

"I had known her already, actually. My parents and I attended her sister's Bat Mitzvah. But that was long ago and, well, she's quite a bit younger than I am. It would have hardly been appropriate to attempt anything then. But in London, it was the first time I'd seen her as an adult."

"So, are you marrying? Doing the arrangement thing like Ines and me here?" Neil asked, then he turned to his son, "Marty, don't eat so fast."

"We are marrying," Declan replied, smiling, "but that's not the only reason I wish to speak with you."

"Oh?" asked Ines. She got up to hug him, and then sat back down. "Jenny Lee, no PADDs at the table."

"It's, it's also," Declan stammered, as the four of them looked at him, "I'm also going to take on her faith."

"Is she insisting on that?" asked Ines. "We didn't feel the need to do this; I didn't ask Neil to become Catholic. I don't think it's necessary. I mean, you can marry and practice it, or not, and she can, or not."

"Or do like us," Neil added, "and kind of not do too much of anything, I guess. Kids, does it matter to you that we don't really practice anything?"

"Nah," Jenny Lee said, "I mean, it's not like we don't get Christmas." She thought for a second. "You'll stop having Christmas, Uncle Dec."

"I suppose that's true."

"Are you going to keep kosher?" Ines asked, looking at her food. "Is elekai kosher, do you know?"

"I've been reading up on that. See, for birds, it's mainly that predatory birds aren't kosher."

"Elekai are dangerous; I think they're pretty much predatory by definition," Neil surmised. "What about perrazin, and linfep?"

"Linfep, I think they wouldn't be, either," Declan said. "They're rather like hares, and those aren't kosher on Earth. Perrazin I believe would qualify, though, as they've got cloven hooves, four stomachs, and they chew their cud, much like Earth cattle."

"So it doesn't matter that they're sometimes cannibals?" asked Marty. "Uh, can we be excused and go watch the viewer? The Sox are playing."

"Sure," Neil said, "just don't put it on too loud." He turned to Declan as both kids departed. "You know, when Ma Lili used to cook for the _NX-01_ , she had to cook kosher, or at least set things aside and not contaminate them. We try to set things aside at _Reversal_ , too. But for you, Dec, this also means no more cheeseburgers, no more bacon, and no more ham or pork." He got up and walked to the counter. He brought over the chocolate bar. "See, this is bittersweet chocolate. It isn't made with milk, so you could technically have it with a meat meal. But let's say it's dessert tonight. Keeping kosher means we could have it with fruit, but not with ice cream. You wouldn't have cream in your coffee, either. I know there's a time limit on it, something like a few hours, and then it's kinda like it's all reset."

"You know more about it than I do right now," Declan commented.

"It's from being around food. Yanno, to be Jewish, you don't necessarily have to keep kosher at all. Does Rebecca?" Neil inquired.

"At times. I think sometimes it doesn't suit her. I recall, in London, she wasn't fussy about how her eggs were made, and I'm quite certain they were cooked alongside bacon. She made certain to not order bacon, but I have little doubt that some of the fat leapt onto her food, anyway."

"It's a compromise, right?" asked Ines. "It's a balance." She picked up the chocolate bar. "Like this; it's both bitter and sweet."

"You'll find your balance, Bro," Neil said, "in this and in everything else. I guarantee it."


	5. Chapter 5 - Soaring

5 – Soaring

Dreams on Lafa II were vivid, magical things. It was all due to the presence of a native ore called _callidium_. It was found in the soil, the metals, the natural wonders, and even the people and animals. Heat diminished its natural properties but did not destroy them. Hence even a meal which included a pie enhanced with native olowa paste could provide even its non-Calafan consumers with incredible nocturnal visions. These would be of actions like diving into crystal clear waters on Risa, or shopping at a market on Tandar Prime, or soaring high above the Himalayas on Earth, with no special equipment whatsoever.

And on Lafa II itself – in the whole of that system, actually – dreaming was even more amazing. It was a communal affair, and _affair_ was certainly the right word, for people would often meet lovers. Adding to the amazement factor, and upping the ante considerably, was the fact that the people who could be met could either be inhabitants of our universe, or of its imperfect mirror.

Declan had had such dreams for much of his life, having been brought up on Lafa II, near Fep City. He'd lived either in his mother's house, which Joss now owned, or in his father's, which he now owned, and was right up a little rise from his mother's. Both homes had a clear view of a field of amplifier dishes, made of pure, refined callidium, which sharpened dream focus even more.

As Declan laid down to sleep one evening, alone in the Reed house, with its turquoise exterior, its cheery yellow hallway, and the bluebird door knocker that his mother had loved so, he whispered to himself the old Calafan nighttime wish, " _Be with who you desire_." Except there was no one he desired, other than Rebecca, who was currently on Tellar. He would have to rebuff others' advances. Politely, yes, and no one was aggressive. But it was still a bit of a burden of being fully committed in waking life. And so he slept.

He heard a familiar voice calling his name and, amidst a crowded hall full of silver and copper Calafans, and some humans, Andorians, Xyrillians, and the like, he ran. It was a dream, and so he did not have to run far and was not winded.

His vision was of a dark-haired beauty. "Rebecca," he whispered. "But, how?"

She smiled at him and showed him her left arm. It now had a scroll-like tattoo, in silver-colored callidium, around her left wrist, made to look a bit like a bracelet. There were even tattoo charms on the bracelet. One was a MACOs insignia. Another was a daylily. Another one was a pineapple. Another was made to look like a book. And the last one was an oval with three circles in it. The symbols all stood for the five people in the earlier generation - Doug, Lili, Malcolm, Leonora and Melissa.

"That's the tattoo that Jia, Marie Patrice, and Ines sport," Declan commented.

"Don't forget Yinora," Rebecca added, "Neil's nighttime lady. Although she doesn't really need it like the rest of us do."

"You, you did that for me?"

"Of course. Declan, I will do anything for you. I know you didn't ask for this. I just, I wanted to be as close to you as, as possible."

"Rebecca, it's funny you should mention that."

"Oh?"

"Yes," Declan confirmed, "for I am doing something for you – also, wholly unnecessary and unasked." She looked at him quizzically, so he added, "I am converting, and am embracing your faith. I want to, to say the blessings with you, and to understand them. I want our eventual children to hear the stories from both of us."

"There is a saying in Judaism," Rebecca commented, "let's see if I can get it right. It, um, it's that when Moses brought down the law from Mount Sinai, all of the Jews were there. Even the dead. Even the unborn. Even the completely unknown and unfathomable, like Vulcan converts, and Jews from the Mirror Universe, all stretching, in a chain, through all of time. And you know something?"

"What is that, my love?"

"I saw you there."

He smiled at her. "Allow me to take you somewhere. Here, I have a bit of control over my own dreaming. I've got some practice." She took his hand.

Instantly, they were flying, out of Lafa II's atmosphere and into deep space, without pressure suits. They passed Saturn, waving at Titan as they flew, and then by Jupiter, and then they wove through the Asteroid Belt. They orbited Mars once, and then the moon once, and then orbited Earth. Declan seemed to be looking for something.

"What is it?" she asked.

"A moment." They circled over Egypt, down a peninsula, near its southernmost end. "There, there it is."

They spent the rest of the dream kissing, soaring over Mount Sinai together.


	6. Chapter 6 - Sinking

6 – Sinking

 _That old feeling._

Declan felt it, a mixture of dread, excitement, and steeling himself for disappointment. He engaged his communicator, "Yes, I should like to speak with Louise Schiller, on Callisto."

A relayer operator came on the line. "Connecting you now," he said, "go ahead."

"Louise, it's me."

"Hmm?"

"Declan. It's me, Declan." He paused, and then clarified, "Your ex-husband."

"Oh? And what brings this call?" she asked, but to Declan's ears, it sounded like she was bored already.

"I'm, I am getting married."

"Are you expecting that I'd object?"

"No," he willed himself to remain calm, "I am merely informing you, as a courtesy."

"You could have just sent an email."

"I suppose I could have, Louise, but I just thought it would be kinder this way. You and I have not spoken for years."

"Kinder? I'm not pining away for you or anything, yanno."

"Clearly you are not. Your, your Aunt Pamela sends her regards."

"That old bat? I haven't spoken to her for almost as long as you," Louise claimed.

"That's hardly a point of pride," he countered, "you seem to be almost gloating about the fact."

"Listen, I never wanted any of it. They were just on my back about it all the time – ' _why aren't you married?'_ and _'get married already!'_ and ' _what's stopping you?'_ Sheesh! At least they don't bother me anymore. And I don't want _you_ bothering me anymore, either, Declan Reed. I've got enough on my mind."

"Yes, yes, Pamela mentioned she had heard from your mother. You're onto yet another paramour. Louise," he mustered up as much sincerity as he could, "I only wish you happiness."

But she had already cut the connection. He was left with that same old sinking feeling, and he paused for maybe a minute to compose himself. "Best to leave that in the past, along with many other things," he whispered to himself. Then he adjusted a setting on his communicator in order to contact another relayer operator so that he could call another person, "Yes, I should like to speak with Thomas Digiorno-Madden. He is serving in Starfleet, under a Captain Robau."


	7. Chapter 7 - I've Got a Secret

7 – I've Got a Secret

Declan had studied. He had even appeared (virtually) before the religious court, the _Bet Din_ , which was actually headquartered on Mars. He had undergone a required minor operation. And he had gone through the _mikveh_ , which was a traditional immersion in water.

He had even completed the modern version of an offering, which was a donation to charity. All that was left was the selection of a Hebrew name, which would then be blessed by the rabbi.

Since the use of Hebrew names would include mention of the parents' Hebrew names, and Declan did not have Jewish parents, he would be adding " _ben Avraham Avinu_ ,"or _son of Abraham, our Father_ , to whatever he chose. But he was having some issues.

One day, he flipped his communicator open. "I should like to speak with Thomas Digiorno-Madden, serving in Starfleet, under Captain Robau."

"Connecting you now," announced the relayer operator, before clicking away from their private conversation.

"Hey, Bro, what's up?" asked Tommy.

"Am I disturbing you?"

"Not at all."

"All right, well, perhaps it's a little strange, but I'm, the final part of the conversion process is to select a Hebrew name. It would be for both parts, for Declan, and for Charles."

"Okay, I'm with you so far."

"I'm having some trouble making the decision. Can you listen, as an impartial arbiter?"

"Sure thing. I take it Declan isn't a Hebrew name?"

"Hardly," Declan smiled a little. "For the first name, there's David and there's Daniel. For the middle name, there's Caleb. There's also Carmel."

"What do you think, Bro?"

"Well, I was looking at their meanings, and at the stories. David was a king; I think that's common knowledge. The name means _beloved_. Daniel, on the other hand, his name means _God is my judge_."

"And what did Daniel do? There's a lion's den thing, or am I thinking of someone else?"

"No, that's right, Tommy. But it's also; he was an interpreter of dreams."

"I think ya gotta go with Daniel. I mean, c'mon, _our_ parents and dreaming? It's a natural. Now what about the other two?"

"Yes, I suppose you're right. Caleb was a spy. I have no idea what that name means. Carmel's meaning has something to do with gardens."

"Caleb, Bro. All the way."

"How come?"

"Well, partly because I think it sounds cooler," Tommy admitted. "But it's also because I like the idea of a spy. Someone a little secretive, like your Dad was."

"Yes, that's true; I had not thought of that. It's a bit of a pity, but I won't be called Declan, son of Malcolm and Lili, or even Charlotte. I'll be son of Abraham, and Sarah, if I want to get technical."

"Oh?"

"They weren't Jewish, so I say that I am the son of the great patriarch. Unfortunately, they're left completely out of it." Declan sighed a little. There were, sometimes, too many things he was leaving behind.

"Maybe say it in your head, and know it. What would you call them, Dec?"

"Malachi – he was a prophet, and his name means _messenger_."

"Ah, like Treve means, in Calafan."

"Yes, that's right," Declan agreed, "and Keshet Liraz."

"What do those names mean?"

" _Rainbow_ and, and _I've got a secret_."

"Really?"

"Absolutely," Declan confirmed. "Amusing, isn't it? But I think Mum would have liked that."

"They all would have. Then you are my brother, Daniel Caleb, son of Malachi and Keshet Liraz. I hope I pronounced those right."

"And you are my brother, Thomas, son of Douglas Jay and Melissa."


End file.
